Books
A Superb Leather Bound Volume of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's, - The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. Leather Bound, Ist "Longmans' Colonial Library" Edition, Published In 1894
It has all the classic Sydney Paget illustrations, including this famous one of "The Death of Sherlock Holmes."
The Longmans, Green & Co. Colonial Library edition of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, typically published in 1894, is a scarce and highly collectible variation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic second collection. It is highly sought after by collectors of antique literature and Arthur Conan Doyle editions
Longmans, Green & Co. released this as part of their Colonial Library series in 1894.
Unlike the larger 1893 Newnes quarto edition, the Longmans release is a standard crown octavo format.
These vintage printings typically include the original, iconic illustrations by Sidney Paget.
The first version of the stories were published in Strand Magazine 1892-93, once bound in a single volume they generally featured standard publisher's cloth or paper-wrapped boards (such as pale green decorated cloth) rather than bespoke leather.
True leather-bound deluxe copies, from 1894 and beyond, such as this one, are almost always custom, bespoke bindings or rebound versions from private collectors or museum collections.
"The Adventure of Silver Blaze"
"The Adventure of the Cardboard Box" – not in the first British edition, thus, not is this 1894 bound volume
"The Adventure of the Yellow Face"
"The Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk"
"The Adventure of the Gloria Scott"
"The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual"
"The Adventure of the Reigate Squire"
"The Adventure of the Crooked Man"
"The Adventure of the Resident Patient"
"The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter"
"The Adventure of the Naval Treaty"
"The Adventure of the Final Problem"
The first London edition of the Memoirs in 1894 did not include "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box", although all twelve stories had appeared in the Strand Magazine. The first U.S. edition included the story, but it was very quickly replaced with a revised edition that omitted it. The reasoning behind the suppression is unclear. In Britain the story was apparently removed at Doyle's request as it included adultery and so was unsuitable for younger readers. This may have also been the cause for the rapid removal of the story from the U.S. edition, and some sources state that the publishers believed the story was too scandalous for the American public.
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes features illustrations by Sidney Paget throughout. An iconic work authored by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, it is a collection of 12 stories originally appearing in The Strand Magazine from 1892-1893. Late 1893 saw its first appearance in book form, printed with a 1894 date. Doyle intended to kill off Sherlock Holmes in the final story, 'The Final Problem'; but, reader demand prompted the author to produce a novel sequel, 'The Hound of the Baskervilles', and the character's 'return' in the equally successful 'The Return of Sherlock Holmes'. This edition of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes provides an essential piece of literary history and a unique glimpse into the Victorian era, complete with Paget's classic illustrations throughout. Enjoy the iconic stories of Holmes and Watson as they were originally intended, in their original form and with the illustrations that made them so popular. read more
1200.00 GBP
Rare Ist Edition Of 'The Hunting of the Snark', Publication Date 29 March 1876, Subtitled An Agony, in Eight Fits By Lewis Carroll. Ist Impression With Error; 'Baker' instead Of 'Butcher' Page 83 Line 6
The Hunting of the Snark, subtitled An Agony, in Eight Fits, is a poem by the English writer Lewis Carroll. It is typically categorised as a nonsense poem.
Written between 1874 and 1876, it borrows the setting, some creatures, and eight portmanteau words from Carroll's earlier poem "Jabberwocky" in his children's novel Through the Looking-Glass (1871).
First Edition. First Impression, with "Baker" instead of "Butcher" on p.83, line 6. Octavo (18.75cm); publisher's original buff cloth, with titling and decorations stamped in black on spine and covers; all edges gilt; surface losses to the spine; contents nice. A well-preserved copy of Carroll's wildly popular nonsense poem, drawing language and characters from his earlier poem "Jabberwocky." "A comic narrative in verse in which ten would-be heroes go in quest of the legendary Snark, the difficulties of finding it compounded by the possibility that it might turn out to be a Boojum" (Barron, Fantasy Literature 2-24). Williams 31.
Macmillan published The Hunting of the Snark in the United Kingdom at the end of March 1876, with nine illustrations by Henry Holiday. It had mixed reviews from reviewers, who found it strange. The first printing of the poem consisted of 10,000 copies. There were two reprints by the conclusion of the year; in total, the poem was reprinted 17 times between 1876 and 1908. The poem also has been adapted for musicals, movies, opera, plays, and music.
The narrative follows a crew of ten trying to hunt the Snark, a creature which may turn out to be a highly dangerous Boojum. The only crew member to find the Snark quietly vanishes, leading the narrator to explain that the Snark was a Boojum after all.
Carroll dedicated the poem to young Gertrude Chataway, whom he met in the English seaside town Sandown on the Isle of Wight in 1875. Included with many copies of the first edition of the poem was Carroll's religious tract, An Easter Greeting to Every Child Who Loves "Alice".
Various meanings in the poem have been proposed, among them existential angst, an allegory for tuberculosis, and a mockery of the Tichborne case.
While Carroll denied knowing the meaning behind the poem, he agreed in an 1897 reply to a reader's letter with an interpretation of the poem as an allegory for the pursuit of happiness.
Henry Holiday, the illustrator of the poem, considered the poem a "tragedy"
This Ist edition of Hunting of The Snark, valued at £200,000, became the central theme of an entire film episode of 'Lewis' from the cannon of works based around Inspector Morse the now world famous Oxford detective. His sergeant, Lewis, had his own Oxford based series after he was promoted to Inspector following the death of his dear friend, mentor and senior colleague of the Thames valley Police.
The Soul of Genius.
DI Lewis and DS Hathaway investigate the murder of Murray Hawes, an Oxford professor whose body was found in a shallow grave in the woods. Dawes lived in a spartan apartment but had recently made an expensive purchase: an edition of Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark, annotated by the author himself, for £200,000. In fact, their investigation shows that he was fanatical on the subject of the snark and was determined to solve Carroll's intricate riddle. Where he got the money is one line of inquiry but it's clear that he and his brother, the Rev. Connor Hawes, were in dangerous competition, something they had been doing since childhood. Making life more difficult for the police is Michelle Marber whose son was found dead several years ago. Although the coroner ruled death by misadventure, she is convinced that he was killed by Dr. Alex Falconer who had some type of connection with Hawes. Falconer, a medical research scientist, denies any knowledge of Hawes. Several suspect ts have lied to the police and the motivation of one of them leads the police the to killer. read more
845.00 GBP
Beautiful Antique Volume,The Timeless Classic, Lewis Carroll, 'Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There.' Original 1928 Printing Deluxe Sangorski & Sutcliffe Binding. From The Library of Mina Bowater, Ex Libris Book-Plate by Malcolm Appleby
Lewis Carroll, - Charles Lutwidge Dodgson,
"A Joy To Recieve, Yet An Even Greater Joy To Give"
M.H.
Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. Illustrated by Sir John Tenniel. illustrated with 16 colour plates.
Printed by Macmillan, 1928.
Bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe in red half morocco over marbled boards and endpapers, spine with raised bands, gilt in compartments,
Bookplate to front endpaper “Mina Bowater” Designed by gun engraver Malcolm Appleby.
Malcolm Appleby turned his Silver Trust commission towards a more peaceful end: the pieces are lavishly engraved. From his workshop, in a converted railway station near Aberdeen, he said, ‘I like to keep my eye on the outside world.’ But he is a far from detached observer; his engravings contain opinions. Appleby trained at four art schools, including the Royal College of Art. His unique bespoke bookplate designs could be commissioned for serious collectors from Malcolm Appleby at a cost of around £2,000.
Sangorski & Sutcliffe is a firm of bookbinders established in London in 1901. It is considered to be one of the most important bookbinding companies of the 20th century, famous for its luxurious jeweled bindings that used real gold and precious stones in their book covers.
Sangorski's elder brother, Alberto Sangorski (1862–1932), worked for the firm. He became an accomplished calligrapher and illuminator, working for Rivière from 1910.
They quickly revived the art of jewelled bookbindings, decorating their sumptuous multi-colour leather book bindings with gold inlay and precious and semi-precious jewels. They were commissioned to create a most luxurious binding of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, the front cover of which was adorned with three golden peacocks with jewelled tails and surrounded by heavily tooled and gilded vines, that was sent on the ill-fated RMS Titanic in 1912. The book, known as the Great Omar, sank with the ship and has not been recovered. Shortly afterwards, in July 1912, Sangorski drowned at Selsey Bill on the south coast of England.
Sutcliffe continued the firm, which became recognised as one of the leading bookbinders in London. The bindery moved to Poland Street, and managed to survive through the First World War, the Great Depression, the Second World War, and post-war austerity. In this period, it undertook work for the Ashendene Press, Golden Cockerel Press and the J. & E. Bumpus bookshop. It also created miniature books for Queen Mary's Dolls' House.
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There is a novel published in December 1871 by Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford.
It is the sequel to his Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), in which many of the characters were anthropomorphic playing cards. In this second novel the theme is chess. As in the earlier book, the central figure, Alice, enters a fantastical world, this time by climbing through a large looking-glass (a mirror)n 1 into a world that she can see beyond it. There she finds that, just as in a reflection, things are reversed, including logic (for example, running helps one remain stationary, walking away from something brings one towards it, chessmen are alive and nursery-rhyme characters are real).
Among the characters Alice meets are the severe Red Queen, the gentle and flustered White Queen, the quarrelsome twins Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the rude and opinionated Humpty Dumpty, and the kindly but impractical White Knight. Eventually, as in the earlier book, after a succession of strange adventures, Alice wakes and realises she has been dreaming. As in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the original illustrations are by John Tenniel.
The book contains several verse passages, including "Jabberwocky", "The Walrus and the Carpenter" and the White Knight's ballad, "A-sitting on a Gate". Like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the book introduces phrases that have become common currency, including "jam to-morrow and jam yesterday – but never jam to-day", "sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast", "un-birthday presents", "portmanteau words" and "as large as life and twice as natural".
Through the Looking Glass has been adapted for the stage and the screen and translated into many languages. read more
650.00 GBP
A Super Rare & Important Historical Volume, Superbly Bound in Vellum, of :The Voiages and Travels of John Struys through Italy, Greece, Muscovy, Tartary, Media, Persia, East-India, Japan, and other Countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia Published in 1684
The Voiages and Travels of John Struys through Italy, Greece, Muscovy, Tartary, Media, Persia, East-India, Japan, and other Countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia:
Containing Remarks and Observations Upon the Manners, Religion, Polities, Customs and Laws of the Inhabitants; and a Description of Their Several Cities, Towns, Forts, and Places of Strength: Together with an Account of the Authors Many Dangers by Shipwreck, Robbery, Slavery, Hunger, Torture, and the Like. And Two Narratives of the Taking of Astracan by the Cossacks, Sent from Captain D.
Done Out of Dutch, by Johh sic Morrison.
STRUYS, Jan Janszoon.
Struys, John
Published by London Abel Swalle, 1684
The Voiages and Travels of John Struys is one of the most wide-ranging European travel accounts of the 17th century, covering vast territories from Moscow to Persia, Java to Japan. Despite its adventurous and sometimes exaggerated tone, it remains a vital historical source, particularly in English-language accounts of Japan—a country that had already sealed itself off from most of the Western world. Its mix of personal survival, cultural documentation, and geopolitical observation makes it an invaluable record of early modern global encounters.
The Voiages and Travels of John Struys is a remarkable early modern travel narrative that recounts the extraordinary journeys of Jan Janszoon Struys, a Dutch sailor and adventurer, across Europe, Africa, and Asia. First published in Dutch in 1676 and translated into English in 1684, this work is the youngest book featured in this exhibit. Despite its later publication date, it is a vital piece of English-language history, particularly for its rare account of Japan, a country that had largely closed itself off from external influences by this period.
Struys’ narrative is not merely a travelogue but an account of survival, exploration, and cultural observation. His voyages took him through Italy, Greece, Muscovy, Tartary, Persia, the East Indies, and Japan, offering one of the most extensive European travel accounts of the 17th century. Along the way, he endured shipwreck, robbery, slavery, hunger, and torture, making his work as much a tale of personal hardship as it is an ethnographic and geographic record.
What It Is & How It Was Made
Struys’ account was compiled from firsthand experiences during his time as a sailor, mercenary, and trader between 1647 and 1673. The book, originally published in Dutch, was later translated into English by John Morrison and printed in London in 1684.
The Voiages and Travels was aimed at European readers with an interest in foreign lands, including merchants, scholars, and naval officers. The English translation broadened its audience, offering one of the few widely available accounts of Japan in English, a language that had very few records of the country due to Japan’s self-imposed isolation under the Tokugawa shogunate.
Because Struys' travels coincided with a period of intensifying European colonial and commercial activity, his book was widely read in England and the Netherlands, influencing European perceptions of Russia, Persia, and Japan.
Struys’ Voiages and Travels provides, One of the earliest English-language accounts of Japan, detailing customs, governance, and daily life at a time when the country had restricted European contact to a single Dutch trading post at Dejima.
Descriptions of major cities and regions, including Moscow, Astrakhan, Isfahan, Java, and Edo (Tokyo), offering rare glimpses into political and military structures.
Ethnographic observations, noting the manners, clothing, and religions of people across Persia, the Ottoman Empire, and the Indian Ocean world.
Accounts of extreme hardship, including Struys’ capture and enslavement by Tartars, his forced service in Russian campaigns, and his survival of multiple shipwrecks and battles.
His descriptions—while sometimes exaggerated—provide a rare firsthand record of areas that few Europeans of his time had visited.
Struys’ narrative is a blend of fact and dramatic storytelling. As was common in early travel writing, he sometimes sensationalizes events or relies on secondhand reports. However, many of his descriptions—particularly of Japan and Persia—are consistent with other historical records, lending credibility to key portions of his account. One such recounting is of a wealthy man, with many wives, declared one wife an adultress, so, with the authorities permission, he had her tied naked to a cross, and flayed her alive, for all his other wives to witness, with her resultant screams being beyond previous experience, and then her body nailed to a wall for all in the town to see. A point of interest, the observant may notice, in the opening page copperplate engraving, the title of the book is within a cartouche of the flayed skin of the most unfortunate wife.
Japan’s Isolation & the Rarity of English Accounts
By the time Struys reached Japan, the country had severely restricted foreign contact, limiting trade and diplomacy to Dutch merchants at Nagasaki’s Dejima island. This makes Struys’ observations exceptionally rare in English-language sources, offering one of the only 17th-century English records of Japan before the country reopened to the West in the 19th century.
This most rare original volume is now only usually to be seen in the libraries of the great Universities of Great Britain, Canada and America, and naturally, The British Library. It is truly an amazing read.
This stunningly vellum rebound volume has a single copper plate first page illustration. read more
3450.00 GBP
Superbly Bound, Leather & Tooled "Quattrocento" Style, In Gilt. A Richly Bound Special Parisien Reprint of 1971, of Dante Alighieri’s 14th Century 'La Divine Comédie',{ Divina Commedia } Purgatoire {Purgatory, Purgatorio}. Illustrations by Botticelli
Dante Alighieri’s 'Purgatory' from his masterpiece 'La Divine Comédie'. The perfect read while waiting to clear customs at Charles De Gaulle Airport. Hopefully, you may even get through the queue before the end
A bilingual French-Italian edition of Dante Alighieri’s La Divine Comédie, published by the Parisian publisher Jean de Bonnot in 1971. It features Sandro Botticelli's legendary illustrations and bound in "Quattrocento" style, richly gold decorated full leather.
Parallel Italian and French translations (by André Pératé, with the Italian text established by Marina Zorzi Kolasinski de Kojen) Contains reproductions of Sandro Botticelli's celebrated lead and silver-point drawings. Features publisher's full tawny or marbled leather (plein cuir), with gold tooling in the "Quattrocento" style on the spines and covers, gilt top edges, and an attached ribbon bookmark.
Dante Alighieri's Epic Poem written between 1308 and 1321, this narrative poem is considered the cornerstone of Italian literature and a masterpiece of Western civilization.
It follows Dante himself (guided by the Roman poet Virgil, and later his muse Beatrice) through the three realms of the afterlife:
Inferno (Hell),
Purgatorio (Purgatory),
and Paradiso (Paradise).
The poem features 100 cantos in total and is known for its intricate numerical and symbolic structures, deeply intertwined with medieval European philosophy, theology, and politics
It has heavily shaped modern perceptions of the Christian afterlife and inspired generations of artists, sculptors, and writers.
The Divine Comedy { Divina Commedia } is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun c. 1308 and completed c. 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest works of Western literature. The poem's imaginative vision of the afterlife is representative of the medieval worldview as it existed in the Western Church by the 14th century. It helped establish the Tuscan language, in which it is written, as the standardized Italian language.
The poem explores the condition of the soul following death and portrays a vision of divine justice, in which individuals receive appropriate punishment or reward based on their actions. It describes Dante's travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. Allegorically, the poem represents the soul's journey towards God, beginning with the recognition and rejection of sin (Inferno), followed by the penitent Christian life (Purgatorio), which is then followed by the soul's ascent to God (Paradiso). Dante draws on medieval Catholic theology and philosophy, especially Thomistic philosophy derived from the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas. read more
65.00 GBP
'The Beasts of Tarzan', First Edition, By Edgar Rice Burroughs -A.L.Burt & Co, New York, 1916. With Illustrations by J. Allen St. John, Bound In Full Green Morocco Leather, With Gold Tooling by Sangorski & Sutcliffe for Asprey of Bond St.London
Edgar Rice Burroughs - The Beasts of Tarzan, w/ Illustrations by J. Allen St. John, first edition, A.L.Burt & Co, New York, 1916, rebound in full green morocco by Sangorski & Sutcliffe. Overall in excellent condition.
Only the second one we have seen of this fine example in 10 years.
The Beasts of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs is a must-read for all literature and fiction enthusiasts. This original 1916 first edition hardcover book is a collector's item with special attributes that make it unique. It takes readers on a thrilling adventure with the iconic character Tarzan in North America, filled with action and suspense. The publisher A L Burt has done a fantastic job printing this book in English, and it's a great addition to any collection.
The story begins a year after the conclusion of the previous book, Tarzan (Lord Greystoke) and Jane have had a son, whom they have named Jack. Tarzan has spent much time building an estate home on the Waziri lands in Uziri, Africa, but has returned to his ancestral estate in London for the rainy season.
Tarzan's adversaries from the previous novel, Nikolas Rokoff and Alexis Paulvitch, escape prison and kidnap the Greystoke heir. Their trap is elaborate and insidious, leading both Tarzan and Jane to be kidnapped as well. Rokoff exiles Tarzan on a jungle island, informing him that Jack will be left with a cannibal tribe to be raised as one of their own, while Jane's fate is to be left to his imagination.
Using his jungle skill and primal intelligence, Tarzan wins the help of Sheeta, the vicious panther, a tribe of great apes led by the intelligent Akut, and a native warrior, Mugambi. With their aid, Tarzan reaches the mainland and begins a lengthy pursuit to find Jane (who is actively engineering her own extrication) and Jack.
Sangorski & Sutcliffe is a firm of bookbinders established in London in 1901. It is considered to be one of the most important bookbinding companies of the 20th century, famous for its luxurious jeweled bindings that used real gold and precious stones in their book covers.
Sangorski & Sutcliffe was established by Francis Sangorski (1875–1912) and George Sutcliffe (1878–1943). They had met in 1896 at a bookbinding evening class taught by Douglas Cockerell at the London County Council's Central School of Arts and Crafts.
In 1898, Sangorski and Sutcliffe each won one of the ten annual craft scholarship awards, giving them £20 a year for three years to continue their training as apprentice bookbinders. They were employed at Cockerell's own bindery, and began to teach bookbinding at Camberwell College of Art. They were laid off in 1901 after a coal strike caused an economic slump, and they decided to set up on their own in a rented attic in Bloomsbury, starting on 1 October 1901. They soon moved to Vernon Place, and then, in 1905, to Southampton Row.
Sangorski's elder brother, Alberto Sangorski (1862–1932),1 worked for the firm. He became an accomplished calligrapher and illuminator, working for Rivière from 1910.
They quickly revived the art of jewelled bookbindings, decorating their sumptuous multi-colour leather book bindings with gold inlay and precious and semi-precious jewels. They were commissioned to create a most luxurious binding of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, the front cover of which was adorned with three golden peacocks with jewelled tails and surrounded by heavily tooled and gilded vines, that was sent on the ill-fated RMS Titanic in 1912. The book, known as the Great Omar, sank with the ship and has not been recovered. Shortly afterwards, Sangorski drowned.
Sutcliffe continued the firm, which became recognised as one of the leading bookbinders in London. The bindery moved to Poland Street, and managed to survive through the First World War, the Great Depression, the Second World War, and post-war austerity. It also created miniature books for Queen Mary's Dolls' House. read more
795.00 GBP
English Translation of Mein Kampf by A. Hitler, My Struggle. Published by Hurst and Blackett. 1938, The Year Hitler Was Named Time Magazine's "Man of the Year"
First library edition, October 1938. Published in London by Hurst and Blackett. With author's photograph and publication autograph signature, and a further publication signature to the Author's Forward.
Very good condition for age, usual yellowing to pages.
Hurst and Blackett.
In October 1933, just nine months after Hitler rose to power in Germany, started to publish, in English, Hitler's infamous biographical book, Mein Kampf. Probably the most famous biography in publishing history.
Hitler began dictation of the book while imprisoned for what he considered to be "political crimes" following his failed Putsch in Munich in November 1923. Although Hitler received many visitors initially, he soon devoted himself entirely to the book. As he continued, Hitler realised that it would have to be a two-volume work, with the first volume scheduled for release in early 1925. The governor of Landsberg noted at the time that "he hopes the book will run into many editions, thus enabling him to fulfil his financial obligations and to defray the expenses incurred at the time of his trial."
Hitler originally published his book in German in 1925. There was a little if any interest in Mein Kampf outside the country as he was an unknown Bavarian fringe candidate. When he unexpectedly vaulted to power in January 1933, European publishers rushed to obtain the contract to translate his work and publish it in other countries. Because the German Mein Kampf was so telling about the coming war and atrocities he would inflict on the French, the Soviet, and most of all the Jewish people, Adolf Hitler was hesitant to allow any translations or publishing rights in different countries. As most of you know, Hitler fought bravely during the entire four years of the Great War and he was wounded twice. During that time, as he later recounts in Mein Kampf, Hitler became convinced the French rather than the British were his true western enemies. In fact during the first three years of his chancellorship, Hitler tried repeatedly to secure a military alliance with England so they could help him destroy France, or at least stand by while Hitler obtained his sweet revenge for Germany's humiliation at the Versailles peace table. So the newly-appointed German leader authorised Mein Kampf to be translated into English and published by London's Hurst and Blackett in the spring of 1933. However, Hitler never allowed a complete translation. After an Englishman named Edgar Dugdale completed his work on the actual translation, the Nazis insisted on revising and censoring the 700 page book. Hitler employed Nazi party official Dr. Hans Thost to specifically go through and remove offending passages in Mein Kampf and to also surgically alter his original German words to make a direct appeal for his British alliance. Dr. Thost was the sole Nazi party official living in London at this time. He spent the summer of 1933 altering and removing over 400 pages from this new English translation and when he was finished, he finally allowed Hurst and Blackett to take this edition to print that September. Even though Hitler was now the leader of Germany, the British publishing house Hurst and Blackett was hesitant about printing too many copies of this book initially. 1933 was the height of the Great Depression, and books were only for the few. It wasn't until 1937 that Hurst and Blackett started cranking out a cheaper, smaller My Struggle because Europeans started to become nervous as Hitler was clearly rearming and reindustrializing Germany. Most copies were purchased by British intellectuals or those keenly interested in foreign policy. Most of those people lived in London, and quite a few of the copies of this book were destroyed in the Blitz. Indeed the Hurst and Blackett Publishing house was completely destroyed by German bombs in 1940.
The book was edited by the former Hieronymite friar, catholic priest and journalist, Bernhard Stempfle, who later died during the Night of the Long Knives.
The book was so successful around the world Hitler used the proceeds to fund his entire election campaign, tours and lectures. And due to its and the authors success he was named Time Magazine's "Man of the Year" in 1938. A later Time Magazine "Man of the Year" {not once, but twice} was 'Uncle' Joe Stalin, also Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini {in 1979}, and Vladimir Putin {2007}
The first 1933 Hurst and Blackett English edition can now achieve values up to £6,500
After Hitler's death, copyright of Mein Kampf, along with other Nazi assets, was given to the state government of Bavaria, which refused to allow any copying or printing of the book in Germany. In 2016, following the expiry of the copyright held by the Bavarian government, Mein Kampf was republished in Germany for the first time since 1945, which prompted public debate and divided reactions from Jewish groups. A team of scholars from the Institute of Contemporary History in Munich published a two-volume, almost 2,000-page edition annotated with about 3,500 notes. This was followed in 2021 by a nearly 900-page French edition based on the German annotated version, with about twice as much commentary as text. read more
360.00 GBP
A Most Rare Item Taken From, Hitler’s No. 2, Field Marshal Keital’s Personal Library in Berlin 1946. ‘Briefe Napoleons’ From Field Marshal Keitel's Personal Collection, From His Late Son, an SS Sturmbanfuhrer, Who Was Killed in Combat
Briefe Napoleons des Ersten : in drei Banden ; Auswahl aus der gesamten Korrespondenz des Kaisers. Napoleon the First. Selection from all the correspondence of the emperor. Published in 1910; Napoleon's correspondence from 1809 until his death in 1821. Published in 3 volumes this is volume 3. Taken in 1946 from the family library of Field Marshal Keitel, and one of two books from the library we have acquired, the first one was sold. Bearing the Ex Libris Book Label of his family and eldest son, who he lost in the war, Karl-Heinz Keitel SS-Sturmbannfuhrer of 8th SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer, awarded the German Cross in Gold, Iron Cross 1st Class for heroism, Iron Cross IInd class, Close Combat Clasp & Wound Badge in black. Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (22 September 1882 - 16 October 1946) was the most famous German field marshal of WW2 who served as chief of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Supreme Command of the Armed Forces) for most of World War II, making him the Chief of Defence for Germany and Hitler's number two after Reichmarshall Goring. At the Allied court at Nuremberg, he was tried, sentenced to death, and hanged as a war criminal. He was the third highest-ranking German officer to be tried at Nuremberg. Karl-Heinz Keitel was born on 2 January 1914, in Wolfenbuttel, the eldest son of Wilhelm Keitel who would rise to become Chief of the OKW, the German Military High Command, during World War II. Karl-Heinz joined the Heer in 1934 and served in various cavalry units following the outbreak of war in 1939. In June 1943 he was assigned to the Kavallerie-Schule in Potsdam-Krampnitz, and served as a battalion commander, and later the regimental commander of the Kavallerie-Regiment Nord. On 5 August 1944, he transferred into the Waffen-SS and served with the 22. SS-Freiwilligen-Kavallerie-Division "Maria Theresia". On 20 October of that year, he was promoted to command SS-Freiwilligen-Kavallerie-Regiment 17 / 22.SS-Freiwilligen-Kavallerie-Division "Maria Theresia" in the area of Hungary. In November 1944, combined with the Florian Geyer division, the "Maria Theresia" was assigned to the garrison of Budapest. On 12 December he was wounded in action while defending against Red Army probing attacks into Budapest for which he was awarded the Wound Badge in Black.
In March he transferred to the 37. SS-Freiwilligen-Kavallerie-Division "Lutzow" as its commander, and led the 2000 strong remnants of the division in heavy fighting around Wiener-Neustadt as part of 6. SS-Panzer Armee. He was reportedly promoted Obersturmbannfuhrer (Lieutenant Colonel) in the closing months of the war. The book's label also bears the label of his wife Dorothee, the daughter of the Werner Eduard Fritz von Blomberg (2 September 1878 - 14 March 1946) was a German Generalfeldmarschall, Minister of War, and Commander-in-Chief of the German Armed Forces until January 1938. The marriage of Karl-Heinz and Dorothee was one of the reasons her father, Generalfeldmarschall von Blomberg, was forced to resign by Hitler in 1938 It was in order to avoid a damaging scandal caused by the Generalfeldmarschall's new wife's criminal history as a prostitute that was discovered by Himmler. It was an extraordinary discovery as both Hitler and Goring attended her wedding to Keitel. Another volume that we know of, also originally from Field Marshal Keitel's library, an 1827 first edition of Alexander Pushkin's 'The Robber Brothers' printed in Russian, was apparently given to Keitel in 1941/2, after it's liberation from another but unknown Russian Ex Libris collection during Operation Barbarossa. That volume was given, in its turn in 1945, to Marshal Zhukov, commander of the Army of the USSR, and bears his Red Star stamp, and also Keitel's military stamp. That volume may weel have bee liberated from the Keitel family home library as was this book alongside the other we are offering for sale. Napoleon Bonaparte was General of the French Revolution; the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from 11 November 1799 to 18 May 1804; then Emperor of the French (Empereur des Francais) and King of Italy under the name Napoleon I from 18 May 1804 to 6 April 1814; and briefly restored as Emperor from March 20 to June 22 of 1815. This unique piece is exactly the kind of item we are seeking and finding every day, and thus duly offer for sale in our shop and website. Unique, original pieces for the discerning collector, and items that simply cannot be found any where else. We are now the only shop in Britain that offers such pieces, every day, and have done and hopefully will continue to do so read more
875.00 GBP
Charles O'Malley, The Irish Dragoon. / Edited by Harry Lorrequer pseud., with illustrations by Phiz Lorrequer, Harry (pseud.- Lever, Charles 1806-1872). Phiz (Browne, Hablot Knight)
Charles O'Malley, the Irish dragoon. / Edited by Harry Lorrequer pseud., with illustrations by Phiz
Lorrequer, Harry (pseud.- Lever, Charles 1806-1872). Phiz (Browne, Hablot Knight)
Published by Dublin: William Curry, 1841
First Edition. Very good copies in gilt-blocked half leather. Slight suggestion of rubbing and dulling to panel edges. Scattered foxing; text remains clear. Remains quite well-preserved overall. Physical description: 2 Volumes. Subjects: Peninsular War, 1807-1814. Peninsular War, 1807-1814; Fiction. English fiction Irish authors.
Edward Tertius Kearsley (abt.1812-1870) read more
265.00 GBP
Origin and Services of the Coldstream Guards, Presented to 4th & 2nd Baronet Hamilton, Edward A. Hamilton, {later Capt.} Coldstream Guards in 1858. Heir to Major Sir Charles J.J. Hamilton, 3rd Baronet Hamilton, Hero of Alma, Scots Fusilier Guards
1st editions printed in by A.J.Valpy Red Lion Court Fleet St. in 1833. 2 vols., 8vo., First Edition, with 17 engraved plates of medals, view of Hugomont and plan of Waterloo.The first dedicated history of the regiment.
It was one of the books selected by the Royal Librarian Richard Rivington Holmes in 1893 as a fine example of bookbinding in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle.
Acquired with a very, very rare Scots Fusilier Guards Officer's Bearskin Cap 1854. Used at Sebastopol and Alma, by his cousin, Major Sir Charles John James Hamilton, the 3rd Baronet Hamilton, Hero of Alma.
This pair of books were presented to his heir, the later 4th & 2nd Baronet Hamilton, Edward A. Hamilton, {later} Captain of the Coldstream Guards, in 1858.
Both Sir Charles John James Hamilton, 3rd Baronet Hamilton, and 4th & 2nd Baronet Hamilton, Edward A. Hamilton, are interred in the same family crypt at Brompton cemetery.
A person can be both the 4th baronet of one line and the 2nd baronet of another by inheriting two separate, distinct baronetcy titles from different branches of their family.
This scenario typically arises through a combination of inheritance, a lack of direct male heirs in one branch, and the merger of family lines.
Founded in 1650, the Coldstream Guards is the oldest Guards regiment in the British Army and serves an important role in protecting the monarch. This history of the regiment was written by Colonel Daniel MacKinnon, who had distinguished himself at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. During the battle, MacKinnon had three horses shot from under him and despite being severely wounded, led the manoeuvres of the Coldstream and Grenadier guards that led to the vital occupation of Hougoumont, defending it against countless French onslaughts. In 1826, he became the commander of the Coldstream Guards and began writing this history.
MacKinnon dedicated his history to William IV and the books in the Royal Collection is were likely the volumes presented to the king on its publication in 1833. It was one of the books selected by the Royal Librarian Richard Rivington Holmes in 1893 as a fine example of bookbinding in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle.
The Coldstream Guards - now part of the Household Division - has the unique distinction of being the oldest Regiment of the British Army. It traces its origins to 1650 when it was founded at Coldstream on the English-Scottish border by George Monck, the Cromwellian General who ten years later was instrumental in restoring the monarchy of Charles II. This two volume history of the early years of the Regiment was written by Col. Daniel Mackinnon in 1833. Mackinnon (1791-1836) was a particularly gallant officer, who had three horses shot under him at Waterloo. The first volume narrates the fascinating story of Moncks' foundation of the Regiment, and its first battle honours in 1650 at Cromwell's great victory over the Scots at Dunbar. It also narrates the Regiment's proud part in the Anglo-Dutch wars of the 17th century and the 18th Century wars against Spain and France - including Marlborough's victory at Oudenarde; and the battle of Dettingen against France - the last battle at which a British monarch (George II) fought. Volume II, which takes the story down to the battle of Waterloo in which the author himself fought, is dominated by the American War of Independence; and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. These are books to treasure for anyone interested in his fine old regiment and in the early history of the British Army.
They were at some time in the possession of the Wauchope clan in Scotland, with ex libris label.
In the gallery we show the crest of Colonel Hamilton of the Scots Guards, his cousin and the 3nd Baronet Hamilton. A crest that would have been passed down to Capt. Edward A. Hamilton 4th Baronet read more
495.00 GBP